Two Poems about the Nose

Welcome to Poetry Friday, this week hosted by Tanita Here. Thank you, Tanita, for hosting.

Laura Shovan’s February Poetry Project is over and I almost managed to write a poem everyday except, I think, two. Still I am very proud I managed to write while and visit relatives most of February. So Yay! And it was wonderful reading so many different responses to daily prompts.

Today I will share another of the poems I started this month. I can’t recall the prompt, but I chose to celebrate the nose and how it aids the human race.

But I am hardly the only poet to celebrate the nose. Below are two stanzas from a poem by Jack Prelutsky, who is glad the nose is where it is on the face and not elsewhere:

BE GLAD YOUR NOSE IS ON YOUR FACE
by Jack Prelutsky

Be glad your nose is on your face, 
not pasted on some other place, 
for if it were where it is not, 
you might dislike your nose a lot. 

Imagine if your precious nose 
were sandwiched in between your toes, 
that clearly would not be a treat, 
for you'd be forced to smell your feet. 

The rest of the poem can be read HERE

My poem expresses gratitude for the nose differently:

ODE TO OLFACTION

Who'd care to propose
we dispense with the nose?

In quiet stealth,
the nose promotes health,

and its arrival
boosted survival

when early man found
smell as useful as sound,

and a benefaction
to detect putrefaction.

which is why we retreat
when we smell dodgy meat. 


© Janice Scully 2023

It’s interesting, I think, to consider all the things the different parts of our healthy bodies do for us and they all deserve a poem or two.

Of course we can’t sit around all day contemplating the human body, we’re too busy doing what we do! But we can still be grateful, now and again, for this collection of miracles.

15 thoughts on “Two Poems about the Nose”

  2. Ha! The nose is a natural comic in the anatomy of humans…I love your riff on Prelutsky. We absolutely need to laugh and smell!

  3. Janice, thank you for honoring the nose and what it gives us! One of the worst things about being sick is losing scent/taste…I’m aware of how much I rely on my nose when it’s not working correctly…esp. when cooking. 🙂

  4. You had me at nose! It’s truly so useful but I love that you take it as lightly as Mr. Prelutsky – but keep the focus on its usefulness in a funny way. Brava!

  5. This poem pair has funny flair — like nostrils sniffing at the air.

    Sorry, Janice! Couldn’t help myself. Your poem and Prelutsky’s are humor-inspiring.

  6. I remember that prompt, Janice! I wrote about how my husband can’t smell anything (so he uses me as his nose). He would never propose that we dispense with the nose. Love your ode!

  7. Yes, Janice, I agree each body part deserves a poem or two. I love your reminding us that olfaction actually “boost(s) survival” So true! You have written an ode that makes one think, and “dodgy meat” is a great phrase.

  8. Hey, I recognize that sense of smell prompt! (wink-wink…it was mine!) I love “benefaction/putrefaction.” Thank goodness for noses!!

  12. Thanks for all the smiles and laughs here Janice! I like both poems poking fun at our important nose, for those of us with nose issues (like me) I’d rather laugh about it!

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